This invention relates to an apparatus adapted for mounting in seats, especially car seats, which has massage elements attached to it, and a method for assembling this apparatus.
Persons who have to remain seated for relatively long periods of time develop symptoms of fatigue and disturbed circulation, which as a whole have a negative effect on their well-being, concentration, and performance. In the case of relatively long automobile trips in particular, this is undesirable in terms of road safety. In fact it is recommended that people take rest breaks and engage in physical exercises every now and then, but this cannot always be done, for example in stoplight-controlled traffic, and finally it is not advisable to stop in the dark at freeway parking areas.
There are seats familiar to the art, in particular including motor-vehicle seats, that contain a vibrating mechanism. However, such vibrating mechanisms are not very effective, and often they transmit their vibrations also to other parts of a motor vehicle, and frequently this gives rise to unwelcome secondary effects.
Also familiar are motor-vehicle seats which in particular have a supporting element within the backrest, with this element being such that it can be bowed out to various degrees by means of a hand-driven or motor-driven apparatus, in order to provide an optimal support to the back areas of the car driver and/or front-seat passenger. This arching element can likewise be adjusted in height by a manual or motor drive in order to provide any desired accommodation to a person of any given size.
Also familiar to the art is a means for providing a supporting element over a bellows in the backrest of a motor-vehicle seat, with this bellows being periodically filled and emptied so that a forward-and-backward movement is transmitted to the areas of a person""s back that are in contact with the backrest. However, this forward and backward movement is not very effective in terms of benefits to the person""s circulation.
This invention relates to an apparatus adapted for mounting in seats, especially car seats, which has massage elements attached to it, and a method for assembling this apparatus. The apparatus has a resiliently flexible support element upon which are mounted a plurality of spindles. On this plurality of spindles are mounted a plurality of massage elements, which are rotatable about an axis defined by each of said plurality of spindles. In an alternative embodiment, the massage elements are integrally formed with the resiliently flexible support element and are substantially rounded in shape.